Short Tales
by Levity
Summary: FE 7, 8, 9, and 10. Eleventh story finished- actually not crack for once!- Zihark lives with the burden of killing one of his best friends.
1. Secret Feelings

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem. Nope.

(Story rated K+)

(FE 9)

EDIT: Hi :D I know this was once called 'Short Stories of the Unloved', but I decided to change it to something shorter. Features characters, situations, and pairings from FE 8 and 9 (I ALMOST nabbed 7, I almost freaking HAD it, but I didn't get it due to my mom's laziness) that don't get many fanfictions. If you have any suggestions, feel free to say so in a review or PM or something!

Also, sorry if this one is confusing, I might've gotten too weirdly creative on this one xX; Ah well.

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Secret Feelings- MistxSoren

"What about those two children? Surely they aren't involved in all of this."

It was strange. As if Tibarn knew. However, he was so subtile about it that it almost confused Mist a bit. What about Rolf? Rolf was there too, as well as Sothe, and they were all children.. however, he had pointed out Soren and Mist. Was Soren even a child?

Maybe Tibarn had only noticed them more than anyone else.. after all, the others were usually off doing their own things, and weren't with General Ike as much as Mist and Soren had been. Soren had been Ike's tactician and Mist had been his only sister, so the two had always been by his side. So, maybe they were just more noticeable. Maybe the hawk king meant nothing by it at all. Besides, it could have been just another slight case of paranoia again.

But still...

Mist sighed and tried to shake the thoughts away. She knew Ike would have to know sometime, but right now just wasn't the right time. After all, there were more important things to think about right now. Things like the war. The war that the mad Daein king Ashnard had spent so much time planning on. The war that had caused the near extinction of the heron tribe. The war that was bringing Tellius into turmoil. The war.. that Tibarn said she and Soren shouldn't have been involved in..

Mist shook her thoughts away again. Why did that have to bother her so much? Maybe it had just been everything that had happened lately.. what with the near year of being away from their broken home, and fighting with odds barely in their favor, yet still being able to make it. It was hard, especially for someone her age.

As battle plans were discussed and Leanne's kidnapping was mentioned, Mist was allowed to sit down for a moment while Ike, Tibarn, and a few others had been deciding where they were to move next. Soren had been included in that group, so Mist paitently waited for him until he had finally done his part. Which took quite a lot of time, but you couldn't expect so much when very careful planning had been required at times like this. The young cleric was quietly humming songs to herself when Ike dismissed the group for a short break. Mist smiled a bit as the certain mage she was waiting for came towards her and sat next to her, though he was unusually quiet. Well, Soren had been quiet at a lot of times unless he was with Ike, but this silence seemed.. different in a way. As if something had been bothering him.

Mist blinked, looking at Soren for minute, until finally asking, "Are you okay?"

"Huh? Hm?" The dark-haired tactician replied, snapping to attention.

"Well.. you aren't talking or anything.."

"Ah, well, I was just.. thinking about something. Pay it no mind."

"Well, if you say so.." Mist scooted closer to her friend and gently fidgeted with his hair. "Soren, I know you do act weird sometimes, but you've been acting weirder than usual lately. Did somebody say something to you?"

Soren sighed and stood up. "Mist, really, I'm fine. Look, we're heading to Fort Pinell tomorrow so make sure you've got your supplies ready. It's going to be a tough battle."

"All right.."

Mist still remained where she was for a little while as she watched the troubled mage walk away. Maybe he was thinking about it, too. Or, was it something else?

The cleric finally decided to get up as well. After all, she did have to get ready... but she couldn't stand Soren acting this way. Ike would surely find something wrong with him.. then what? Mist sighed and wearily made her way to her tent that she had been sharing with Titania. The end of the day was drawing close, and she had to make sure she had her supplies ready. As she was making sure she had all of her healing staves in order and good condition, a voice behind her startled her. "Hey, Mist. Are you in here?"

Mist nearly jumped and replied, "Uh?"

The voice turned out to be the very person she had been sharing her tent with, who was slightly concerned with Mist's reaction. "I just came in to check on you. Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Well, as long as you're feeling okay.. look, I'm going to head out for a bit longer. I'll be back soon." The red-haired paladin then left, leaving Mist alone once again to sort out more of her thoughts. As the sun set more and more and Mist started to become tired, another voice came through the tent entrance. "Mist?"

Mist didn't jump this time as she had recognized the voice right away. "Yes, Soren?"

"Is.. it all right if I come in for a minute?"

"Uh-huh."

Mist turned to see the dark-haired mage enter her tent, looking as if he decided something or was figuring something out. He offered a slight smile, which was weird, since Mist didn't usually see Soren smile. But, at least it was better than him looking all gloomy like he seemed to be most of the time. "So, have you gotten all of your healing supplies packed up?" He asked after a bit.

"Oh, yeah.. they're all ready," Mist replied dazily, still in a strange state of thought. Mist smiled back, slightly hoping that Titania wouldn't return to the tent just yet. It had been a while, so she was bound to be back any minute.

".. By the way, about earlier," Soren began, "I apologize if I worried you. It's just that, there's something I've been thinking about. Like I said before, just pay it no mind. After all, you've seemed to have a lot on your mind too.."

"Well... it's just.. do you think we should tell Ike?"

"Hm?"

"I mean.." Mist paused for a second, "About our.. our feelings.."

"Look, Mist.. you really shouldn't worry too much. I'm sure.. Ike would understand and accept it. He doesn't seem the type to get too worked up."

"Are you.. sure?"

Soren smiled again which still seemed pretty rare to Mist, "I'm sure."

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'Kay, I hoped you like the first one. I'm planning on possibly making more parts to this later since the ending has strings that need to be tied. So, stay tuned and I hope you enjoyed:D

.. By the way, I know I have other unfinished fanfictions, I promise to get them going again as soon as possible xX;


	2. Why the Crow King is a Bitch

DISCLAIMER: Nope, I still don't own Fire Emblem. Sniff.

Story rated: T (For language and all that)

(FE 9)

Story number two. Don't ask where the idea came from, it's.. based off of something that happened to me in chapter 19. And so, I made Mia the witness of the whole thing because she's awesome. Along with Stefan and Zihark, that is. They were my 'swordmasters of love' threesome. Lucia sucked, so she couldn't join that merry group. Poor Lucia.

.. Don't ask, by the way, about anything found odd in this story. Like, any characters acting out of character, or something. It.. came out of random. I was bored. ;-;

Warning: Slight spoiler for one character. Really slight.

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Story Number Two- Why the Crow King is a Bitch

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It was cold. Mia knew that much. That, and she could barely see anything. Fighting on the mountains was strange. It was almost surprising that no one had been blown away into the unknown somewhere, especially the flying units. Except.. she had sort of wished the crows would blow away. Maybe just a teeny bit.

They were so annoying. If you didn't watch yourself carefully, they would swoop down on you before you could even discover that one was above you in the first place. However, what made it even worse was that _he_ had to be there. The Kilvas king. He was more annoying than 15 of his lesser crows put together. If his talons didn't kill you, he had wind magic as a special ability as well. Wind magic! Well, hey, he was a laguz king, after all. But why did he have to be here? Mia sighed, taking down a myrmidon that had charged towards her before he could even land one attack. She had hoped Janaff and Ulki could talk Naesala out of being in this battle, otherwise they wouldn't be able to hold up much longer. Everyone was spread out and couldn't find each other because the constant blizzard made things hard to see. It made the weary swordmaster wish she had Janaff's eyes sometimes...

Mia blinked, and moved forward a bit more. Something was becoming visible in the distance. A.. battle or something? She couldn't tell. Damn snow. It was always so pretty to her, but when it came to battling, it was just a big pain in the ass. She tried to inch a bit closer, careful not to get in range of a ballista. When it finally started to become clear enough, her hatred for the crow king at this moment increased just a bit more. If that was even possible.

No one stood a chance. Oscar had nearly been knocked off of his horse, and Mist and Rhys were both trying their hardest to heal as many as they could. Then there was Naesala, hovering over his next victim. Mia froze. Him.. the unruly green hair, the colorful outfit.. and that sword..

_Stefan._

She was probably the only one who knew. Everyone else was occupied with something. The hawks were nowhere to be found, and everyone else had either been injured or fighting off someone else. Which meant that it was all up.. to her.

Mia sprinted forward as fast as she could, the scene becoming clearer and clearer. "Naesala!" She had shouted, attempting to distract the raven king long enough for one of the hawks to finally come. _"What the heck, they can fly!"_ Mia thought to herself, _"So what's taking them so long?"_ To Mia's dismay, Naesala didn't seem to hear her call. Either that, or he just ignored it. He just attacked his victim once more, this time raking his talons against his chest and sending him flying. It was after this that Janaff finally appeared from a mountain peak, and started talking to the crow king. Mia couldn't hear what they were saying, not that she really cared about that anyway. She was too busy making her way through the snow to get to her fallen friend. "Damn it, Janaff! You were a little late on that one!"

It was terrible. Seeing him like this was just terrible. Mia had never actually seen him wounded before. He was usually close to invincible.. nothing could ever even hit him in battle. He could easily slay everything in his path... it was just sad. Mia bent down to check how bad he was.. he was still breathing, but barely. She was panicking. If nothing was done soon, he would die. She couldn't even remember his name for a brief moment. Or her own; in fact, for that one terrifying moment in her life, she couldn't remember anything. Nothing..

".. Mia? What.. happened here?"

"Uwah?" Mia looked up to see a familiar face staring down at her. Zihark.. it was Zihark. And in that moment, most of Mia's fear and confusion seemed to.. blow away, with the snow and cold, blustering off into oblivion and being replaced with a small flicker of hope. With all of the effort she could muster at this point, she stood back up and threw her hands at her fellow swordmaster's shoulders, and dazily began, "The crow king severely injured the leader of our trio and he needs a healer. He needs one now. Get one now.. !"

"All- all right. I think I saw Mist earlier.." And it was with this that Mia released her grip to let Zihark go search. So now, all she could do was wait. Except, something felt weird. As if her panic attack of forgetfulness made her forget something important--

.. The pain in her side. The sharp, stabbing pain in her side. Right. The ballistas. She forgot about those. What interesting timing as well! She was dizzy. Her vision and hearing started becoming a blur, and she blacked out.

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_"Has she awaken yet?"_

_"No, but she should any minute..."_

_"Hey, I think she's stirring!"_

"Mia, are you.. all right?"

Mia blinked her eyes open, and saw the ever-worried face of Zihark looking at her for the second time that day, along with Rhys. She looked around for a moment to discover she was in a tent. Was the battle over.. ? Something seemed to bother her as soon as she woke up, but she couldn't quite grasp what it was.. her memory was hazy. She started to rise, but felt immediate pain after, and was forced to lie back down again. "M- Mia! Be careful, you shouldn't rise yet.. !" Rhys advised, the orange-haired priest looking rather flustered. Mia sighed, finally asking the question she was longing to ask.

"What.. happened?"

Zihark was the one to answer this question, "Someone in one of the ballistas discovered you in your state of distraction and chose that moment to strike. I had been coming back with Rhys since Mist had already been healing Oscar, and we found you unconsious as well as Stefan. Ulki had already taken care of the ballista guy--"

".. Ack!" Mia interrupted, " That's right! Wh- whatever did happen to him?"

".. Oh, him.." Zihark replied, "Fortunately, his wounds weren't as deep as we thought they were. He did a great job in dodging what could have been a lethal blow. He's.. in the other tent next to us. With Mordecai. The big guy seemed pretty frightened when he found out what happened.. I think they've been developing some sort of friendship."

Mia attempted to rise again, this time dealing with the pain. "C- can I go see him?"

Rhys started to fluster again. "Wait! Mia, really, you shouldn't be moving around.."

Ignoring the jittery priest, Zihark held out his hand, offering to help Mia up. "Of course," He replied.

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"Stefan! You've got another visitor."

"Hm?"

The Branded swordsman turned to see Zihark and Mia standing at the tent entrance. Mordecai was indeed there as well; the two had seemed to be in the middle of a conversation. Nonetheless, seeing Stefan up once again was a huge relief to Mia. "She's finally come to, and the first thing she wants to do is see you," Zihark had said, allowing Mia inside the tent, "She was pretty concerned."

Mia watched Zihark leave soon after, assuming he went off to tell Rhys something. She noticed how late in the day it had gotten... how long had the fight been, anyway? How long was she out.. ?

"So, Mia. You were worried about me, were you?"

"Huh?" Mia replied, snapping to attention and turning around to face her friend, "Oh.. yeah."

Stefan chuckled slightly, "Yes, I heard all about it. Though, I have to say... I didn't know you would go all that way just to help me."

".. But, of course I would!" Mia said, "You, me, and Zihark, we all promised we'd stick up for each other, didn't we?"

"Yes, we did. Which is why I worried for you, too. Some of the others actually didn't think you'd make it. But I knew you would. After all, someone like you wouldn't go down that easily."

"Mm.. Stefan?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really glad things turned out okay."

"As am I."

And so, with that, Mia, Stefan, and Mordecai all conversed, laughed, all of those little things. Mia was still exhausted, but happy that the trio of swordmasters lived through that terrible battle. For a second, Mia had wondered what the crow king ever did, though she figured that, since Crimea had won the battle that day, Janaff and Ulki were successful in making him leave. With the help of Reyson, of course. But, still.. he really was a pretty tough bastard.

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.. Yes. You see, this happened about a year ago. I was on chapter 19 and moved all of my good units up into Naesala's range and forgot all about them, and then he attacked Oscar, so I managed to get him out of there, but then Stefan wasn't as lucky (except, in here I let him survive because he's too hot to die D:). So then I reset, and was able to make him go away that time. Though, haven't you noticed that ballista dudes like targeting swordmasters and the such:D; Yeah.

Anyways, Merry almost-Christmas, Happy Holidays, and story three will be coming soon! Hope you enjoyed this one. Even if it was weird in a way. Alawl.


	3. Drinking Buddies

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem

Story rated: T (For slight language lawl)

(FE9)

Lol 2008 ftw. Hope you all had a nice holiday and new year. Mine were awesome XD And now, to present the third story of my collection! (I was bored again by the way so don't ask)

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Story number three: Drinking Buddies

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It had been a hard day, and everyone was at a temporary rest. Mist and Rolf were happily playing around, Marcia was chasing Makalov around once again, and the ever-sleepy Haar was taking a nap on his wyvern, his snores roaring loudly. All were at peace for now, trying to regain their happiness after a long day's battle.

Of course, the certain red-haired sniper we all know and love fled to the one place he had ever found comfort in. Yes, that one place where men drank all of their worries away, cracked jokes, and forgot all their cares. He had craved a drink, he did. And so, what a surprise it was to him to find _him_ there.

A half-breed.. the crow king Naesala, no less. Seeing him made Shinon almost want to throw up. He wanted to ask what the hell he was doing here, at HIS sanctuary, but was interrupted by the already-drunken raven king's laughter. "Well, if it isn't Shinon... you suree are herr a lot, aren't 'chuu? Come err, first drink is on me."

Shinon raised a brow, but shook away the questions he wanted to ask. Hey, he got a free drink out of it, after all. The sniper sat next to Naesala, and the two had one drink after another, until both had consumed at least several.

"Holy sheet... the wall hath preety picturrs on et.." Shinon mumbled, which made the laguz king next to him squint his eyes as well.

"Whoa.. uur right..." The two started to point, as if something on the walls had suddenly started to move. The two stared closely, enthralled by the 'interesting pictures' on the walls, watching nothing in particular. The two exchanged blank looks, then broke out in sudden laughter. "Urr all right ferr a sub-human," Shinon told his new friend.

".. Mmf? Did youu jus say sub-human?"

"Hm? Whaa? I didn't say nothin'."

"Oh.."

The door of the tavern burst open, and in came Ike. He looked rather confused. "Shinon? Naesala.. ? Is this where you two have been all along?"

"WELL, IF IT ISN'T LITTLE IKEY BOY!" The sniper with the pretty hair shouted, "What brings CHUU herr? This placee.. is ferr men..." He hiccuped once, and Naesala finally noticed Ike looking at the two with a concerned face.

"Whuh? Ike? Oh, greaat... look who has come to spoil our funnn!"

Ike sighed. Maybe it was better to leave the two alone...

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xX; Sorry to make that so short. But I still had to write this XD Story 4 will be coming soon! (And it will be longer. I swear.)


	4. Ike's Rescue!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters or anything. But I bet a lot of us wish we did.

(This story is rated T... for a bit of stuff I guess XD?)

(FE 9)

Hay guys. My mom's birthday was on the 4th of this month lawl. Anyways, hooray for story four!

Yes- ever had weird thoughts when certain units rescue each other?

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Story number four- Ike's Rescue!

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Ike already knew. There were too many of them. He couldn't possibly take care of that many himself, and they were swarming. Yet, he couldn't let Mist know. Under any circumstances, she could never know. The blue-haired commander didn't understand. How Mist had magically obtained that horse, he would never be able to figure out. But it had been causing so much trouble already. The laughing, the jokes, the--

"Ike? Hey, Ike!"

_"... Blast,"_ Ike thought to himself as he heard the familiar voice of his little sister coming toward him. Shit. She knew. "Mist, no please--"

"Ike, come on. I only want to help you! You're hurt.."

"Mist, you are NOT rescuing me again!" The blue-haired general just couldn't take it. Not after what happened last time. It was just too embarrassing. Even though he risked getting killed, it had to be better than getting humiliated like that. Well, okay, maybe not really, but Ike still couldn't bear the thought..

Mist sighed as another soldier tried to get the drop on Ike, seeming oblivious that the little girl was there. Maybe it was because she was hiding in a thicket... no. No matter what her brother said, no matter what he thought about it, Mist would try everything to help him. She had to. "Ike, get over here!"

"Never!" And then came the chase. Ike bolted his way out of the swarm of enemies, his sister soon following and leaving the confused soldiers on the ground.

"Iike.. !"

--

Where was everyone? He'd rather have someone else help him, but where were they? This forest was so dark and dense, it was almost scary. The next thing Ike could remember was looking behind him to see how close his sister had been to catching him, then all of a sudden he felt rather dizzy, most likely from exhaustion. Exhaustion and the sharp pain in his leg.. he seemed to just notice after getting attacked about ten minutes ago that his leg was bleeding. He knew he had to stop running sometime, or it would just get worse...

As Ike was looking back once more, he felt himself completely crash into someone else, the impact knocking the two to the ground. The other was able to get back up quickly, but Ike's daze and his injured leg made it harder for him to do the same. The commander however was able to look up and discover that not only was Mist that much closer to catching him, but that this other person was now offering to help him up. And he then found out that this was the strange eccentric man who had joined them in the desert some days ago. Ike sighed. He was desperate, and this was his only hope. "Stefan," Ike breathed, "Will you.. help me?"

"Hm?" The tall, green-haired man replied.

"I'm hurt, and my sister is.. chasing me..."

There was no more to be said, Stefan just smiled and threw the tired commander over his shoulder. And right in time, too- Mist had finally caught up, a little disappointed. At least Ike would be safe now... though, there was something making the young girl giggle a bit. "..What's so funny?" Ike asked after realizing that his sister was laughing at him.

"You two.. and you, on his shoulder.. it's just so cute, ahh.."

".. What?"

"Ehehe.. oh, nothing, Ike.." And with that, Mist healed Ike's leg and rode away, still in an uncontrollable fit of laughter.

Ike sighed, now to realize that Stefan had snickered a little. "Please shut up," Ike muttered.

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Those of you who're wondering what exactly happened to Ike last time when his sister rescued him.. well, he got laughed at. A lot. I guess. But it looks like he still couldn't escape it this time. :D I don't know, I was bored (as I have established already) and then tried seeing who could rescue each other and I got all "Lolwut" when I figured out that Stefan could rescue Ike, so. I know this was short again, but the next story might end up being a longer and more serious one so stay tuned!

Oh yeah, and this took place in the chapter 17 setting XP


	5. The Hungry Mage

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem dsosjdsojd.

(This story is rated T I guess I think. .. :D)

(FE 9, IlyanaxMordecai wut)

Not much to say here right now except "Hi lawl enjoy k." I really need Radiant Dawn...

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Story Number Five- The Hungry Mage

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He just didn't understand how she was so small. Every time he'd see her in battle she'd always look as if she were about to faint or something, and it just didn't seem right to him. The large tiger Laguz would sometimes ask if she was all right.. she'd usually reply with something like, "Don't worry... it's normal." It still bothered Mordecai to see her so weak, however he had never been so worried about her until that day...

It was another day of fighting for Crimea's liberation- Mordecai never did like war or fighting at all for that matter, but it was his king's orders, and he liked Ike anyway. He liked traveling with him and the other beorc. They were actually... friendly towards Laguz. Well, except for a few, maybe. He didn't really mind though.

The fighting progressed, and Mordecai... noticed something. He didn't see Ilyana anywhere. Sure, she'd fall behind sometimes, but normally she would've caught up by now... where was she?

Mordecai looked behind him, deciding he would have to go back to look for her. Some wondered where he was going and asked him, but he didn't reply. He'd blame himself if something were to happen to the little mage, and he didn't like even considering that kind of thought... it was just something he couldn't bear.

He thought he could spot something some feet away from him; some soldiers were surrounding something near some thickets. Mordecai uttered a develish roar that left them fleeing, and revealed what they had all been standing around. Mordecai transformed to his humanlike figure and knelt beside the tiny magic user passed out in a bush. To Mordecai's surprise, she didn't seem hurt too much, aside from the fact she was passed out. Giving the mage a slight nudge, he asked, "Are you all right?"

Ilyana stirred slightly, and without opening her eyes, she muttered, "I'm... hungry..."

Mordecai smiled at this, remembering how Ilyana was always hungry. This definately meant she was okay. The Laguz propped the small girl up on his shoulder and replied, "Hold on. When the battle is over, I will buy you dinner."

"Would you.. really do that... ?"

"Of course I would. You are skinny for a beorc... you scared me when you passed out. Do you eat much?"

"Well, kind of," Ilyana replied, "But whenever I'm finished eating... I get hungry again..."

"Well, stay by me in battle," The tiger offered, "I'll make sure to protect your small body from harm. And if you get too hungry again, you can come to me for food."

"But.. that seems like a lot--"

"It's fine. Let's catch up to the others."

Ilyana smiled as Mordecai started running back towards the main group. "Thank you, Mordecai..."

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... I kind of don't like this, like maybe I should've made it longer, but I needed to get it finished XO; I could consider making it longer like the MistxSoren one.. well, we'll see. Stay tuned for story 6! I promise I won't take this long next time D:

... By the way, I'm surprised I haven't seen too much more of this. The Mordecai/Ilyana supports are so cute...


	6. Boredom Is A Great Thing

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem or any of it's characters orndksjdsdlsslk

(Story rated T lawl)

(FE9)

Well, I was... in an msn conversation. And this oneshot is the result of it.

:D

PS: I just noticed that the beginning sounds like yaoi. Well, it's not. Hahahahhahaaa did you really expect that from ME? -Point point-

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Story number six- Boredom Is A Great Thing

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It all began with Soren and Ike in a tent. Actually, it had almost developed into some sort of routine. You know, that kind of routine that was sort of entertaining to the others. All except maybe Titania, though Soren found it amusing to some kind of degree. Yes. Amusing, and maybe funny.

"Soren?"

"Yes, Ike?"

"... Do you smell that?"

"... Uh?"

Ike was frozen in one spot, sniffing the air like a dog. A really desperate one, or something of the likes. "It smells like... like..."

Soren took a few steps back. "I.. don't know what you're talking about. I don't smell anything."

"Soren, you LIE. It's strong, it's, it's..." Ike's eyes grew wide as he started backing to the corner of the tent. He made no sound for several minutes, and Soren had still been standing there the whole time. ".. It's not going away. Where is she? Where is she?!"

Soren gulped, stepping even further away.

"AHHHHHH!!!" Ike screamed, which caught the attention of some passers by, causing them to peak into the tent flaps, "WHERE IS SHE?! I CAN SMELL HER, BUT I CAN'T SEE HER!" Ike started wailing, hiding even further into the corner. "Make it go away! MAKE IT GO AWAY!" He started flailing his arms all around, which knocked things down. He even almost hit Soren in the head, who was now exiting the tent at this point.

For someone with Ike's small brain capacity, this happened a lot, you see. Most of the time it wasn't really who he was fearing it was, yet he still believed it was _her_.

"Ike!" Titania shouted, rushing into the tent and holding Ike to the ground so he wouldn't flail around anymore, "What is it??"

"P... p... perfume! I, I smelled it! AHHH! Why do I SMELL Aimee and yet I can't SEE her?! Why?!?!"

Titania sniffed the air for a minute, and noticed that there had been a faint hit of something in the air of that tent. Aimee, however, was all the way at the other side of the campsite.

"Ike, it's okay. She's not here."

"YOU LIE!"

Titania then had to resort to dragging Ike by the legs out of the tent and taking him to another to be put for a nap. Soren was standing right beside said 'nap tent' where Mist and Rolf would sometimes take said naps. Then said read-haired paladin was standing at the entrance of the tent and looking directly at Soren.

"Soren, you really should get rid of that perfume."

"But... I like it..." Soren muttered.

"Soren, wearing cheap whore perfume gets Ike in a state of paranoia where he thinks Aimee is near. And you know what Aimee does to him," Titania warned for about the thousandth time. But Soren never really did learn his lesson.

"Yes, Titania. We all know what Aimee does to Ike, but it's not my fault Ike's got himself a little stalker," Soren replied with some sort of shrug.

"Soren, don't make me get Devdan over here."

Soren whimpered and pleaded to Titania not to have Devdan come again; last time he had to burn all of his robes and he spent nearly a week in a small, isolated room-tent-thing where he didn't want to come out and he had cut himself every day for that said week. He heard voices and had nightmares, and every time someone tried to come in to see him, he'd give them third degree burns. Fire magic ftw.

And thus, the story of why Soren had to get rid of his whore perfume. For Ike's sake, as well as the rest of the company; at least until Aimee decided to approach Ike again for real this time. It resulted in horrific, catastrophic destruction that left many dead. Including Makalov, though no one really cared about him. Except for Astrid. She committed suicide and Gatire cried for many months to come.

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.. :D

Story 7 is coming soon


	7. Ike's Deep Voice

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem. But if I did, Stefan would've appeared much, much earlier in FE10.

Story rated: K 

(FE9 and 10)

... :D

Well, hi thr. I kinda died for a bit there lawl. And I think I've been writing too many short crack oneshots... I wanted to write this one soo bad, though... I mean, we all know it's true! ... But anyways, the continuation to the SorenxMist story and a new chapter one I had ideas on will be coming soon. Lawl, Bizz loves her weird pairings. Trust me, you'll be seeing some weird pairings in here soon

AND I HOPE YOU LIKE THEM TOO.

.. Oh, and by the way, I finally got Radiant Dawn. -Heart-

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Story Number Seven- Ike's Deep Voice

---

Once upon a time, a boy was born. A boy with blue hair like his mother, and blue eyes. He was the cutest little thing you ever could see.

As he grew up, he soon became a part of his father mercenary company, the Greil Mercenaries. But we've all heard that story. The one about how the common boy became a hero. You know... the one named Ike. Yeah, he was still a boy back then. Was just learning the basics of fighting, and he was all of a sudden thrown in a war with Daein. He did a lot, though. Befriended Laguz, helped a princess free her country.. heck, he even helped in restoring the relationship between the heron clan and the nation of Begnion, or humans in general. You know, after the Serenes Massacre..

... Blah blah blah, but do you remember his voice?

... No, seriously. Do you remember it? And the cuteness plus the slowness and the childish-ness that got him all of the fangirl attention? Yes, we all remember that. His voice was deep, sure, but he was adorable back then.

However, that all changed.

--Three years later--

"... Ike? Is that you? Sheesh, what have you been eating, boy?"

"Huh?"

He would get this a lot from old friends he used to know. He grew muscles. Big muscles. Also, he looked a lot like his dad. It's a wonder why Aimee still liked chasing him around.

... Wait, no, never mind. Not really, since she'd chase about _anyone_ around, but that's not the point.

The point is this, the letter he had recieved from a concerned fangirl:

"Dear Ike,

You grew up too much! I miss the old teen Ike that was all adorable and stupid and picked on his sister a lot! Seriously, people grow up, sure, but you grew up WAAY too fast! What, are you trying to look like Mordecai or something? And you kinda look like your dad now... and your VOICE. Since when did it become so... so _deep?_

-From Said Concerned Fangirl Mentioned Earlier"

"... Mist? May I ask you something?" Muttered the troubled commander at the dinner table to his younger sister.

"Sure, Ike. What is it?"

"Do you think the others are right about what they've been.. telling me lately?"

"Hm? About what?"

"Do you think I've... grown up too fast?"

Ike was confused at the weird pause he recieved, and looked down at his plate. Soon his sister suddenly burst out laughing, and the others all had their gazes fixed on the two.

"Mist... I'm being serious here..."

The laughing continued. It continued on and on and on, and Ike sighed.

--Even Later--

IKE'S VOICE WAS REALLY DEEP IN BRAWL. A HAR HAR HAR.

The end.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

.. SERIOUSLY. YOU KNOW IT'S TRUE.

Story number 8 plus other updates and stuff are coming soon


	8. Illness and Mishaps

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fire Emblem.

(FE7) .. :D

I needed to do another one of these so bad. Bleh. Oh, by the way, I got FE7 along with 10 too so yaayy FE7 and 10

So, um, idea was kinda sorta incredibly random and I just had to write it down. Of course, that's how most of them turn out anyway.

fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

Story Number Eight- Illness and Mishaps

fff

It was a rather pleasant day for most. For others, however, it wasn't much so. A day of rest is nice, but for those who caught the strange spring illness that was going around, well, some would rather be fighting then having to deal with the unusual virus. At least it didn't last too long.

"Guy, go away. I mean it."

"But, K-Karel, you don't look so well... you sure you don't want me to maybe, uh, do something about it?"

"I already told you what you can do: _go away._"

Guy didn't respond, but instead watched as the swordmaster in front of him doubled over once again, clutching his stomach in preparation for another possible fit of vomiting. The green-haired myrmidon decided to leave the room at this point, either to look for help or to look for something else to do just to kill time; his concern for his current teacher proved to be too much, however, so he went with the first option.

fffff

"Awww... come on, hold still! If you got worse and died I wouldn't know what do with myself!"

"Serra, it was only once! I threw up only once, and that was last night! Let go of me, I'm fine... !"

"And how am I supposed to know that, huh??"

The shouts coming from inside of the room of the inn made Guy rather reluctant to enter it, but this was his only choice. Trying to make sure nothing he saw was too explicit for his young mind, he knocked the door. To his relief, nothing too mature was going on; Serra was just being Serra again. Erk was the one to answer the door, obviously wanting very badly to get out. "What do you want?" He asked, "You heard all of the shouting, I assume?"

Before Guy could answer the mage's question, there came a rather high-pitched squeal. "Eeeee! Guy, Erk's sick! Don't get too close--"

"Serra, I told you, I'm _fine_!" The noticably irritated mage shouted, "Gahhh!" Erk shoved the rather bewildered myrmidon out of the way and bolted out of the doorway.

"Erk, wait.. !" Serra was about to go after him, but stopped when she reached Guy and sighed. Then she grinned again and muttered, "He'll be back. They always come back.. I _am_ irrisistable, anyway."

"Uhh.."

"Oh, Guy! Right!" The hyperactive cleric chirped. She turned to Guy and asked, "Soo, what did you come here for, anyway?"

"Ah.. well," The boy replied, stratching his head slightly, "Karel's got the sickness that's going around. Think you could, uh, help.. ?"

"Ahh, really? Well, don't worry! I'll be there right away!" Serra rushed to the back of the room, and Guy could hear her rummaging through supplies. He started to whistle a random tune as he waited for the girl to finish; once she did, the last thing he could comprehend afterwards was being grabbed by the arm and tugged out of the room. Damn, that girl was rough.

fffff

Guy waited paitently outside of Karel's room for Serra to finish the treatment. He found it odd that the occasional protests that had been coming from the sick swordmaster had stopped suddenly throughout the middle of it; one would have guessed that the cleric was murdered hence Karel's personality, but Guy knew him better than that- he only did that to worthy opponents. Of course, that girl was someone to be reckoned with.

"I'm do-one!" The cleric sang, shutting the door rather slowly and quietly. Guy gave the woman a rather peculiar look.

"Uhh, so, how is he doing.. ?"

"Ah.. he'll be fine. He's sleeping right now... it took him a while to cooperate, but it all eventually worked out."

".. Huh?"

Serra giggled. "Now, where did Erk go.. ?" She sprinted past the bewildered Guy, off into the east hall of the inn.

-end-

fffffff

Story nine is coming soon. Lawl Serra.


	9. Fried Chicken

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem but there is some leftover chicken in the fridge that we do happen to own, and I am rather hungry :'D

Wheee, this was brewed from an inside joke between me and Epona64. She's a great writer, check out her stuff sometime. :'D Oh, and don't ask, srsly. Instead, try saying the first sentence to yourself without taking in any breaths and see if you can do it.

'o'o'o'

Story Number Nine- Fried Chicken

'o'o'o'

There was, once upon a whatever, a story to be told that was probably never even mentioned nor uttered to any living being ever before, a strange and unusual story that started with a man standing atop a hill in the snowy mountaintops of Daein, his homeland. He never in actuality told anyone about where he came from. He kept it a secret that he actually wasn't discriminatory against Laguz for obvious reasons, and instead let his duties take hold of his true emotions. He felt it best. He was a commander of Daein, after all; how far would his image be altered if he had admitted to such a thing, such a thing that was disgusting to the other citizens- and generals- of Daein?

He was remembering things from long ago. The man recalled training with his father, the one who taught him fencing, how to wield a sword properly. A hand ran through his dark green hair at the recollection; it gave him some sense of confidence. His self-esteem wasn't too bad, he remained clam and sure of himself even as the Crimean army marched forwards towards the army he had commanded. There was something he felt deep down but had tried to ignore. He knew it was probably hunger, but he couldn't be distracted. He knew what Petrine did to soldiers if they failed and he didn't even want to imagine it; he even quietly told himself in his mind that if he were to be defeated he'd rather be killed right there on the battlefield than let General Petrine do what she did best, but he told himself over and over that he would not lose. He would win, he would win. Daein had already lost too much. It was ruining the reputation of the corrupted country- he actually thought the country was becoming a bit of a mess, but he never said that.

He felt his stomach grumble a bit. He knew he was hungry, but he couldn't let that stop him. Food started to come into his starving mind. He knew he should've eaten before, but he spent too much time preparing. He had heard that the Crimeans were mightier than they looked, so he had to have everything in order. But he was famished. He wished he had grabbed at least a little something beforehand, like maybe some Meat, more desiring he had found was Fried Chicken. He longed for it dearly. He had wished for Fried Chicken but Fried Chicken didn't seem to want him that day, which would be his last day probably, actually most likely, but he didn't know that because he had believed so much that'd he be in victory. He wanted victory and not loss. However, he had also wanted Fried Chicken.

He spotted something in the distance that caught his attention. It caught his attention from his hunger momentarily, from his wanting of Fried Chicken, which was what he had wanted the most. He stepped forward and put a hand over his eyes to see better; somehow, to him, the blizzard was rather bright, in a way. There was something about how white snow was. He knew he should have been used to it because he had lived around here, where winters were harsh and very white and sparkling snow was quite frequent. It just seemed rather different that day.

The swordmaster had to squint his eyes a bit more, but he discovered someone that struck him as odd- he looked almost _exactly_ like him. His hair was maybe a bit shorter and lighter, and his attire more... colorful, but nevertheless, he looked almost like a long-lost relative, a cousin, maybe even a brother? The Daein commander standing a distance away wanted to ask him if he _had_ in reality been related to him, but he knew he couldn't do that. He was the enemy, at least part of it anyways, and the enemy was to die there today. They had to. They had to die. There was something inside of him that kept him a little hesitant from that fact, but he couldn't lose. However, his curiosity of the man confused him.

Fried

His stomach growled again. Not now, he had thought to himself angrily, not now. The Crimean stragglers are coming closer and those blasted crow sub-humans have already abandoned us- which he had just noticed--

"Shit."

Chicken

He swore under his breath, he at least hoped it was under his breath. He was reminded that his own breath was visible, too, and the man atop the hill of shining white remembered that he was cold, and also that he really badly needed food. He started to feel dizzy, but he forced himself to keep standing. Nearly the whole of his soldiers were decimated already, and it was only a matter of time before he would be found and challenged. He drew his sonic sword and readied himself. He wouldn't be like the others that were killed so easily, he wouldn't.

"C-Commander Homasa!" Came the voice of one of his soldiers, made barely audible by the sharp cries of the blizzarding wind, "Th-the raven king has--"

"I know already!" The rather cross commander shouted, cutting the soldier short. His frustration seethed to the point of boiling over. "How about spending less time stating the obvious and more time fending off the enemy army?!"

The soldier said no more, probably to placate Homasa, but either way he sprinted off quickly and was cut down appromixately five minutes later. Homasa sighed. The green-haired man he saw earlier appeared before him once again, closer this time, maybe even noticing him; He felt like this man was eyeing him intently, as if waiting for him to do _something_, but he didn't know what.

"You!" Homasa pointed to a soldier that hadn't taken much of a move yet, "Bring me my Fried Chicken.. !"

".. Huh?" The soldier stared at his commander dumbfoundedly. There was a moment of awkward silence before Homasa realized his fault, and he groaned in annoyance, perhaps also in hunger.

"That man!! Bring him to me!"

There was a period where he was questioned on which man it was, and Homasa had to specify rather forcefully and harshly. Then there was the moment of waiting, and spacing out, and the thoughts of Fried Chicken. When he discovered that his possible relative was standing right in front of him, staring at him with a rather curious and amused expression on his face, Homasa made some sort of a sound and pointed at this amused man. "You.. ! Why do you look so much like me?!"

"Hm? Why, I should be asking you the same thing," The man replied.

Homasa's hunger struck him once again, and he found himself having to catch his breath before speaking once more. He knew what hunger was as he used to live with it every day, but there was a different hunger entangled with this one as well, and the mere thought of it sickened him, maybe a little.

"You.. !" He began, pausing and continuing afterwards, "I am Homasa, a commander of Daein! Tell me, what is your name?"

"Hm? Me? Why, I am Stefan. You seemed to be rather interested in me if I'm not mistaken."

"Ste... Stefan..." He repeated. "Will you... be my Fried Chicken.. ?"

"... What?"

'o'o'o'

.. This ended out horribly. Ah well. Story ten should be coming soon


	10. Gatrie's Beloved

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fire Emblem, but this stuff is fun**

Lol guys sorry for never updating

But here's an epic oneshot for you all

I should be writing more from now on. I promissse

'o'o'

Story Number Ten- Gatrie's Beloved

'o'o'

Shinon was amused.

It had been the dead of night when they left the tavern laughing and drunk, as they sometimes did. Shinon had waved goodbye to Gatrie, who seemed to be in some sort of rush to get somewhere special. Actually, he had mentioned such a thing, and snuck away thusly.

Though it was always known Shinon could hold his liquor better than Gatrie could, the sniper had never predicted anything like _this_ to happen. It was a rather perplexing surprise. Shinon was rarely ever surprised at all in his life, especially considering all the things he'd seen. Sure, he had been caught off-guard around three years ago when Ike was made commander of the mercenary company, something Shinon still didn't think the whelp deserved. Hell, he even became a general for a stint of time. He _never_ understood that. With a good aim and a clean shot, Shinon believed he could still take Ike out in milliseconds, horrendously giant muscles or not. He took his mind off of it quickly, and, rather, fixed his mind on _this_ instead.

_This_ had been the best prank anyone like him could concoct in his very mind. Sure, after a while it became a little creepy to any other bystanders, but not to Shinon. Shinon was utterly entertained with it, as could be expected. The man loved torturing people when he was bored and inebriated- the worst possible combination. It was his character, after all. If he didn't do what he did, he'd be taken for dead.

He continued watching Gatrie weaving through the forest behind the mercenary fort. The moon- a waxing one, not quite full, but wider than a crescent- was shining dimly through the trees, allowing for at least enough light to view the show. The sky almost seemed like it was ready to be painted in some sort of scene, in a sense. A dramatic painting. Shinon was never too enthralled in those.

The knight, sans the armor, stopped short at a particular area, and kneeled down as if praying. He had halted his drunken journey through the woods at a rather peculiar-looking tree; there had been something frilly and somewhat pinkish- maybe a mauve, in actuality- around the center of the trunk. He should've known what color it was. The red-haired man _had_ put it there in the first place.

Shinon inched closer, as not to be seen or heard, not like he would. But Shinon was cautious- that, too, was the makings of his character.

However, and to his dismay, it was nessecary that he approach nearer to his intoxicated friend- even with his acute hearing range, whatever had been taking place some feet away from him was still rather inaudible. The blinding darkness didn't help much, either. Not like it usually mattered much to Shinon, since he had hunted all of his life and in these seemingly-impossible conditions; even worse ones. This time had just been _different_, somehow. It was a completely different situation, an all-new scenario. That, and he was intoxicated- the sniper had blamed it mostly on the alcohol. Shinon ran a hand through his thin ponytail- it kept his confidence up in certain times- and crept up quietly through the thickets.

Finally, he thought. I can hear now. And thus he listened intently, stooping down in a comfortable position. He fervently hoped whatever leaves were brushing against the side of his face weren't poison ivy. They probably weren't.

"My lovely," he could hear Gatrie saying, and Shinon had snickered at this, "How I wish to be close to you for evermore.." Shinon scooted just a bit further into the shrubbery.

"No one would understand... would they?" The knight continued, "That I'm human... and you're not? It doesn't matter... because I finally have a girl..."

What happened next Shinon couldn't recall. It might've been the drinks, since he could remember blacking out for a very brief moment, and was dizzy afterwards. The skilled marksman tried to regain his balance. He prayed ardently to the Goddess he actually didn't care too much about that he wouldn't pass out at that moment. This was too good to miss, too good, too good...

... His sight returned eventually. It could've taken about a few seconds to fifteen minutes, he was unsure. He surmised it hadn't been too lengthy a moment of time, since his knight friend in loose clothing was still there--

-- part of his clothing was _missing_--

-- What was he _doing?_ --

-- Shinon's cloudy eyes widened. He certainly didn't assume it'd go _this_ far--

_-- He was now naked--_

-- The red-haired man had to laugh, _he had to he had to_, but this was all getting so, so strange, he didn't know the failure-womanizer was _that_ drunk, he started to feel bad, but then that wouldn't have been _him_ because he was _Shinon_ the arrogant _ass_ and an obnoxious, roaring laughter escaped him like a monster escaping a dungeon and Gatire had heard--

'o'o'

The morning felt like a wyvern had rammed into his stomach. The very instant Shinon had awakened, he vomited into the dewed grass next to him, and he lie his head back down. The man had wondered why the rest of the mercenaries hadn't been searching for him yet until he realized it had still been a very early dawn, and this _had_ happened before. Well, the tavern-all-night thing, not the _other_ thing--

Shinon's mind sparked as he realized what had happened the night before, and the instant he did, he was awakened fully by a violent shaking. Somebody was jerking him awake, and it wasn't until after his stuffed ears could comprehend whose voice it was that he actually realized _who it was._

"Shinon! Shinon, wake up!" He heard Gatire shouting as Shinon's mind was knocked back into place. He groaned loudly.

"What the hell is it that you..." He stopped there, whatever else he was about to say had trailed off. He was interrupted immediately afterwards, so it wouldn't have meant anything anyway.

"Tell me! What did I do last night?! My clothes were off! And there was a _tree!_ With a _skirt!"_ Gatrie's look of horror on his face was priceless, and Shinon _couldn't help it._

Snickering horribly, Shinon had replied, "Come on, Gatrie. Less return before they start a search party."

"But you didn't answer my _question... !"_

Needless to say, Gatrie's confused and desperate questions left Shinon in an uncontrollable fit of snorting laughter the whole way back.

--/--


	11. A Terrible Burden

**Disclaimer: nuu I still don't own Fire Emblem**

... Sorry that I keep disappearing :'D I don't mean to, I swear.

Also, this is what Zihark deserves for the utter blasphemy he committed in FE10. _Twice._ It's unforgiveable! .. I'm sorry, Zihark. You know I loves you.

'o'o'

Story Number Eleven- A Terrible Burden

'o'o'

The air of the Ribahn was murky and horribly unwelcome for so many. The excruciating tension in the atmosphere made it worse than it was; it was so thick, some could've sworn it made the swampy air that much harder to breathe in. Facing old friends was hard. Micaiah pressed everyone forward, as much as they hadn't wanted to do it. Her troops were confused. It was less extreme for her long-time comrades of the Dawn Brigade who'd never known Commander Ike of the Greil Mercenaries in their whole lives, except for Sothe.

Sothe himself could've sworn some soldiers were showing signs of discomfort and somewhat anger towards their own Maiden of Dawn, and had tried everything in his power to hide it. It was in vain, anyway, to no avail. He knew Micaiah wasn't stupid. He knew she had known it anyway, known about the whisperings and stories going on between the men, of her blind faith in Daein's new king. "What is she thinking?" and "I thought we were fighting for Daein!" and "What are His Majesty intentions? What is going on?" She hadn't wanted this; she was just following King Pelleas' orders, after all. And yet, she was still frequently questioned with such ardent passion that she began to wonder herself if this really was the right thing.

-o-

And then there was Zihark.

The man was positioned with several other swordmasters in the center of a small strip of land amidst water reeds in the middle of the river. A smaller unit of troops stood in front, awaiting for the enemy to come. Most of the land-dwelling soldiers lingered on or near land while the wyvern units were given their own posts all about the edges. This is how they would corner the Laguz Alliance- for good. This is where the filthy sub-humans would die. Zihark resented the very idea of it.

He hadn't had the heart to tell the revered Maidan of Miracles either. The man fought _for_ the laguz, not _against_ them; not to mention he had been on Ike's side in the Mad King's War. He recalled Mordecai's kindness and Lethe's stubborn pride, Ilyana's endless hunger and Brom's stories of his children back in his small farm at home.

And, most especially, he remembered his two rather unexpected friends he had made- the excitable mercenary, Mia, and the eccentric desert hermit, Stefan. The three banded together had endured so many obstacles, escaped death on numerous occasions (being swordmasters, these instances had been frequent), and soon became widely known as the undefeatable swordmaster trio. Zihark could play back close to every memory from the three years ago in such vivid accuracy. The sorrow he still felt from his broken heart in the past was dulled after spending so much time with them, and he could tell Stefan's loneliness had been eased as well. The Branded took too many hardships, in his opinion. Why did having a touch of laguz blood have to matter for anything?

-o-

The man's nervousness overtook him so extremely that he could barely keep the grip on his own sword. He had to say something, he knew he just had to. Would anyone listen? He sighed and decided to just bear it, for now. Maybe they wouldn't get this far. Maybe they'd retreat in time. Anything but this.

The men in front of him charged forward; Ike and his mercenaries had arrived, and weren't leaving. They were advancing forward, closer, closer. Zihark had taken a few steps back, beads of sweat beginning to show themselves on his face. His discomfort was visible. He was asked once if he had been all right, and he had responded with a half-nod. He wiped his forehead; the Laguz Alliance had been making their way across the strip of land, and the Daein soldiers surrounding Zihark had already took up their turns for an attack. _Just go with them,_ his mind kept repeating, _perhaps nothing will happen, just go, you can't look suspicious!_ He had almost _wanted_ to look that way this one time, just this one time. But he couldn't. He readied his blade and sprinted forward with the rest of the group for the head-on attack, his own thoughts inaudible in the shouts and battle cries, and hadn't realized anything in his complete and temporary absence of mind.

So suddenly, before his thoughts could reach him in the chaos, he could've sworn he heard a voice. It had belonged to someone, it sounded so familiar, yet it had been vague. He continued with his attack albeit the sharp change of feeling deep in his gut, until it was too late. His body came to a rough and abrupt halt, and a sharp gasp of pain sounded from the sorce of the voice straight in front of him. Zihark's consious had returned then, along with a terrifying feeling that kept his eyes glued shut. Time had paralyzed, everything had ceased their activities, the very nature of the world had gone silent. When everything continued it's normal momentum once again, the silver-haired man opened his eyes to see frightened green ones staring back into his. The feeling in his legs had gone numb.

"... Z-Zihark? Is.. that you.. ?" The girl in front of him had managed to ask, her purple hair and orange outfit instantly recognizable in Zihark's defogging thoughts. The white headband had confirmed what he feared the most. His thoughts screamed at him.

_What have I done?_

"... Mia..." He whispered shakily.

_What have I _done?

The duo had been locked in a deadly embrace, Zihark's killing edge having successfully struck it's mark. Mia had dropped her own weapon moments ago; she had been incapable of a counterattack to her friend, even as he had been ignoring her cries for him to calm himself.

Mia risked another hurting gasp before the impaled sword was drawn from her chest, and she slumped forward into the fellow trio member's arms as she heard Zihark's blade join hers on the marshy ground in a noisy clatter. The trembling arms of her former comrade wound around her tightly. "Mia... I..." he faltered, and would've continued, but was interrupted before he could.

".. You didn't mean that... right?" Mia asked weakly, faint desperation in her tone.

Zihark held Mia tighter as he had replied with a slight quaver in his voice, ".. No, Mia... I didn't." Memories were flashing back as someone nearby had shouted, "someone, get a healer! This doesn't look good!" but it wasn't to any use; Mia's life had already been fading away, and Zihark could _feel_ it leaving her as he kept her close and didn't leave that spot for a long time, even with the turmoil surrounding them; and even with a severely mortified Mordecai standing a distance away whom had watched the whole scene unveil before his own tiger eyes, yet simply responded to it with a loud, mournful roar that rang across the river's landscape...

-o-

When Yune assigned Zihark to the Silver Army, he could've _sworn_ she had been plotting something in that mind of hers; she _was_ a goddess, after all. Hearing that the divided group led by Micaiah and Sothe were traveling a route through the Grann Desert uneased him fervently.

And it hadn't been for naught- he was eventually confronted by the desert swordsman, the seven colors practically haunting him as Stefan approached in a slow stride. Zihark felt almost taunted by his presence and thus didn't look him in the eye, even as he said, "So, a little bird told me about what happened to Mia."

But Zihark responded with nothing but a sigh. The burden of it all had gotten worse with every passing day, and even though he was accepted back into Ike's group before, he hadn't been _fully_ accepted. He had taken Mia away, and Rhys had felt almost like a failure, for reasons often obvious for healers. It had been his fault. It had been his fault. This repeated over and over in his mind, louder and louder as time crawled slowly by. Mordecai had always been so kind, always tried to bring comfort to those who needed it. Zihark felt like he hadn't deserved it. The burly tiger laguz should've killed him, but he had refused.

"Ah. I see. So, it's true then," Stefan replied, his voice solumn. The other man heard the sound of a blade slowly being drawn. "Well, I don't hold anything against you personally, but it seems we'll have to settle this."

"What?"

"In Mia's honor." Stefan's Vague Katti glinted in the hot desert sun.

"... Very well, then," Zihark agreed, unsheathing his own sword.

"At your ready."

-o-

Those in the Silver Army who had witnessed the duel between the Blade of Unity and the Blade of the Desert were thus reminded of what war could do to anyone, even tear once-friends apart. It was to the death. Zihark had, rather, fought half-heartedly the whole time; the battle had been over before it even started, as the old saying goes. Stefan correctly surmised Zihark's fervid desire to die, as much as he hadn't wanted to admit it. When he asked his friend if he had any last words, the Vague Katti's tip to his throat, he replied with the remnants of a smile on his face,

"Thank you."

-/-

For anyone who's wondering, 'Blade of Unity' is actually Zihark's title in FE10 8D

Story 12 is coming soon


End file.
